The invention relates to a reddening mixture for covering meat products, especially boiling sausages, by adding plant products, in particular vegetable products, and nitrate-reducing microorganisms.
The reddening of meat products is attributable to the use of nitrate and/or salt of nitrous acid for brining purposes that may be added in quantities of maximum 150 mg/kg of raw sausage meat. The reddening of boiling sausages with the help of microorganisms, as used in meat production, has not been customary up to now, particularly because the heating carried out immediately after the production process, according to traditional technology, does not permit an adequate metabolic performance of microorganisms.
Since food additives of natural origin increasingly enjoy greater consumer trust than traditional additives, it is deemed desirable to have available a reddening substance and a process that utilizes the natural nitrate content of foodstuff. Such agent and process would have to lead in a controllable and reproducible manner and by methods that comply with the food law to a nitrite content in the respectively treated meat product that is within statutory restrictions.
This objective is reached by making available a reddening mixture for meat products, especially for boiling sausages, that contains, related to 1 kg of meat or sausage preparation, 1xc3x97108 to 5xc3x971010 cells of a nitrate-reducing microorganism, useable for foodstuff, and 10 to 2000 g, related to fresh weight, of a plant product having a natural nitrate content of 100 to 5000 mg/kg. The microorganisms and the vegetable product may be present, respectively, in dried form. When using dried microorganisms, their activity must be supported by rehydration and, if necessary, by appropriate combinations of nutrients.
The reddening mixture, according to the invention, is meant for meat products, particularly for boiling sausages, and is optimized for this purpose. Said mixture contains, in the above-mentioned quantity, germs of a nitrate-reducing microorganism, useable for foodstuff, as well as a vegetable product with a permissible, natural nitrate content. Both components may be present in dried form of which the microorganism would preferably be in a freeze-dried form.
Meat products are deemed all foodstuff that contains meat, even including those foods that do not contain the minimum legally stipulated meat content. These are, in particular, raw pickled meat, cooked pickled meat, raw sausages and boiled sausages.
The microorganisms concerned are those that have been introduced to and are customarily used in food technology. These are, in particular, nitrate-reducing microorganisms of the following genera: staphylococcus, micrococcus, halomonas and paracoccus. They are especially germs with a nitrate reductase and thus are able to provide the required nitrite from the nitrate of the vegetable products Nitrite is the basis for the formation of nitric oxide that is required for the reddening.
Naturally, also insulated nitrate-reductase can be used instead of live microorganism. Nitrate-reducing enzyme systems are known to science and may likewise be used without a doubt for inventive purposes.
Especially preferred are microorganisms of the S. carnosus, S. xylosus and S. equorum species, as well as Kocuria varians, which are already used for the reddening of meat products. A particularly preferred culture is the customary Staphylococcus carnosus utilis strain. In addition, a number of nitrate-reducing halomonas species are known that have proven to be usable in foodstuff.
Basically any vegetable products that have a nitrate content of 100 to 5000 mg/kg, especially 1,000 to 2,500 mg/kg in the fresh state, as required according to the invention, can be used as plant products. These include, aside from the actual vegetable product itself, also vegetable extracts and juices and, if necessary, in an enzymatic or microbially fermented form, as well as such products in a dried form.
Preferable vegetable products within the meaning of the invention are various forms of lettuces, especially head lettuce, lamb""s lettuce, iceberg lettuce, as well as Chinese cabbage, spinach, beetroot or celery. According to current regulations, consumable head lettuce may contain up to 2,500 mg/kg of nitrate in the summer and up to 3,500 mg/kg in the winter. Beetroot may contain up to 5,000 mg/kg of nitrate. It is also possible to use mixtures of various vegetables. As regards to neutrality of flavour, types of lettuce are given preference. It is understood, of course, that the addition of plant products can entail further effects as, for example, in the realm of flavour and colouring.
The reddening mixture, according to the invention, may also contain other preferable additives in addition to the above-mentioned components such as, for example, a mixture of spices as required for the production of the respective meat products, as well as a reactivating mixture for the microorganism. It may be appropriate to keep the microorganism, reactivating mixture and/or the spice mixture/vegetable product separate from one another.
The reddening mixture, according to the invention, may contain, for example, as a marketable package, the individual components in the quantities required for the preparation of 25, 50, 100 and 200 kg of meat or sausages.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a reddening process of meat products, especially boiling sausages, according to which one adds to a seasoned but nitrite-free meat or sausage preparation nitrate-reducing microorganism, useable as foodstuff, in quantities of 1xc3x97108 up to 5xc3x971010 germs/kg of mass, in combination with a plant product having a natural nitrate content of 100 to 5,000 mg/kg of fresh product in a quantity of 10 to 2,000 g per kg of meat or sausage preparation, related to the fresh weight of the plant product. The meat products are then allowed to rest/ripen for 6 to 72 hours and are subsequently heated.
The microorganisms and the vegetable product thus fulfill the aforementioned criteria for the reddening mixture. The vegetable product is added to the prepared meat or sausage preparation in such quantity that, in particular, a nitrate content of 10 to 300 mg/kg of mass results.
It is understood, of course, that when using nitrate-containing drinking water in the production of the meat product, such nitrate content can likewise be taken into consideration and utilized for inventive purposes. The nitrate content in drinking water may not exceed 50 ppm.
When microorganisms are used as a dry product, it is appropriate to rehydrate or reactivate them prior to use. They can be rehydrated, for example, in tap water or in a familiar rehydration medium. To reactivate them, liquid media, enriched with minerals as well as with nitrogen and carbon sources, are appropriately used, and the microorganisms are allowed to rest in such media for a defined period of about 6 to 72 hours, especially 12 to 24 hours.
The use of dried, especially freeze-dried microorganisms, following rehydration or reactivation, is preferred for the process according to the invention. This applies likewise to the use of the plant product as a dried product.
The meat product produced, according to the invention, appropriately ripens over a period of 10 to 48 hours at a temperature of 5 to 12xc2x0 C. This is subsequently followed by heating preferably to a core temperature of 68 to 72xc2x0, especially if it concerns boiling sausages.
The invention relates ultimately to a meat product obtained from a seasoned but nitrite-free meat or sausage preparation, by using nitrate-reducing microorganisms, useable in foodstuff, in quantities of 1xc3x97108 up to 5xc3x971010 germs/kg of meat or sausage preparation, in combination with a plant product having a natural nitrate content of 100 to 5,000 mg/kg, in a quantity of 10 to 2,000 g per kg of meat or sausage preparation, related to the fresh weight of the plant product.